Category Archives: Aviation

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale), a UN award winner and a trusted global IT solution partner for several Fortune 500 companies worldwide for the Logistics Industry, has been chosen by dnata, to develop the next generation Airport Cargo Community e-Commerce platform in Dubai. With the two airports Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Center (DWC), handling over 3.5 Million tons of air freight in 2019, there has been several physical and digital infrastructure upgrades taking place in Dubai. dnata has been a pioneer in running one of the most comprehensive airport cargo community eCommerce platform under the brand name of CALOGI, way ahead of its times in the first decade of this millennium. The Calogi business has served the community for over a decade now. dnata has currently envisioned creating the next-generation community platform that would cater to the cargo community’s current and future needs and have the capability to support innovative services like Sea-Air Corridor, 3rd Party services and many more to accommodate end-to-end supply chain needs. The new Airport Cargo Community eCommerce Platform at DXB and DWC by dnata and Kale is the testimony that the region is slated to change gears for Air Cargo to the fast lane.

SAS Cargo has extended its unit load device (ULD) partnership with Unilode Aviation Solutions by five years, up to 2026. Unilode will also continue to supply SAS Cargo with containers and pallets from its pooled ULD fleet, as well as enabling the carrier to use its track and trace solutions. Additionally, SAS Cargo will trial SAS Cargo’s Connect service package, which monitors and and gives notifications about ULDs’ temperature, humidity, shock and light data. Max Knagge, president and chief executive of SAS Cargo Group, said: “We have built a strong relationship with Unilode over the years. Unilode’s pooled fleet significantly increases month-to-month ULD flexibility, enabling us to pay only for the ULDs we need, which is critically important in volatile market situations and during a pandemic. This will also help us reduce our ULD-related spend. In the years ahead we see great opportunity for growth and continued success through our partnership with Unilode.” Babak Yazdani, managing director of ULD Solutions at Unilode, added: “We are proud to have been a long-term trusted partner for SAS Cargo over the past 10 years. This is the second renewal of our ULD management agreement, which is a testament to the mutually beneficial collaborative relationships we build with our customers.

Blue Dart, South Asia’s premier express air and integrated transportation & distribution company, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), announces paperless transactions on their new Digital Portal for all its Vendor Partners this World Environment Day on 5th June 2021. The United Nations has proclaimed 2021- 2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Blue Dart recognises the importance to fight climate change and is integrating robust ESG mechanisms into this decade of ecosystem restoration. Blue Dart has executed over 50% of its customer invoices online and is working towards achieving a 100% transition. Manufacturing paper is energy-intensive; one A4 sheet requires approximately 50 watt-hours. Going paperless will help conserve energy, reduce CO2 emissions, avoid deforestation, protect the natural habitat and strengthen forest-based livelihood opportunities for the surrounding communities. Through this initiative, Blue Dart will not only protect the environment but also commits to planting a significant number of trees every year. Currently, Blue Dart plants 111,000 trees every year, in order to offset 22,20,000 kg carbon per year on maturity.

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, has announced it will donate $50,000 USD each to sustainability-focused projects in India and Africa. As part of the FedEx Priority Earth Global Grant Program, thousands of FedEx team members selected 12 nonprofits from across the six international regions in which FedEx operates. Each be awarded a $50,000 USD grant, for a total FedEx investment of $600,000 USD toward green solutions: “FedEx has set ambitious goals to reduce our footprint where we have the greatest environmental impact. Working alongside nonprofits and investing in their efforts is a critical part of the company’s strategy to drive the action and innovation needed to make a difference in our world,” said Jack Muhs, regional president for the Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Africa.

Tasman Cargo Airlines has launched a new freighter service between Changi Airport and Australia, becoming the first freighter operator based in the country to offer services to the Singapore hub. The five-times-per-week services utilisises a B767-300 freighter and operates on a loop of Melbourne-Darwin-Singapore (bi-directional). The flight is chartered by DHL Express and will carry cross-border e-commerce volumes from across the express firm’s global and Southwest Pacific network. Sean Wall, executive vice president, network operations & aviation, DHL Express Asia Pacific, said: “Australia is growing as an important market for DHL as local businesses continue to adapt, innovate and adopt e-commerce practices for their business needs. “To cope with rising shipment volume and ensure we continue to provide timely deliveries to our customers, we have swiftly responded by adding flights connecting Australia to the rest of the world.”

Menzies Aviation’s cargo operations in Sydney have received the Center of Excellence of Independent Validators for Pharmaceutical Logistics accreditation (“CEIV Pharma”) from IATA. Menzies Cargo Sydney is the first handling agent in the Oceania region to achieve CEIV Pharma accreditation, the company said. The company added that its Sydney operation had been working towards the certification for more than two years. Alistair Reid, executive vice president, Oceania at Menzies Aviation said: “It has been a very thorough and rewarding process for our team in Sydney who have spent almost two years working to understand the criteria, develop processes, invest in infrastructure and train the staff which resulted in us being able to be assessed and validated for the CEIV Pharma accreditation.”

Lufthansa Cargo which is in the midst of fleet renewal has ordered another production Boeing 777F, a 103 tonne capacity freighter aircraft, to increase its capacity. The freighter will be delivered by the end of the year and when delivered will be the airline’s eleventh of the model, the airline informed. The aircraft announced by the airline in March is to be stationed at Frankfurt after its arrival in autumn 2021. While the airline is adding freighters and securing its cargo capacity, on the passenger front it has announced non-stop flights between Germany and India, making the travel more seamless. Adds Dorothea Von Boxberg, CEO, Lufthansa Cargo, “We are very pleased that we will be able to offer our customers additional freighter capacity in the future. Another brand-new Boeing 777F aircraft is being added to Lufthansa Cargo‘s highly efficient freighter fleet. Delivery of the aircraft is expected before the end of this year. A total of fifteen full-freighters will then be in service for Lufthansa Cargo’s customers. The Corona crisis has impressively underlined how important these aircraft are for global supply.”

DHL Global Forwarding is joining United Airlines sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programme as it continues to ramp up its green strategy. The world’s largest airfreight forwarder said that as part of United’s Eco-Skies Alliance programme it will contribute towards the purchase of 3.4m gallons of SAF this year. The reductions in carbon footprint are then allocated by DHL to its customers. DHL Global Forwarding, Freight chief executive Tim Scharwath said: “Through this partnership we will be able to show how a market mechanism for SAF can help airlines, freight forwarders, and shippers work together to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, ultimately zero carbon emissions transport sector.” The forwarder also plans to launch a ‘book and claim’ system to enable customers to ramp up their use of SAF and be allocated SAF certificates to validate the corresponding reduction in their carbon footprint. Christoph Wolff, head of shaping the future of mobility, World Economic Forum, said: “The ‘book and claim’ mechanism is an essential element of SAF certificates. We need frontrunners like Demand Signal group participants United Airlines and DHL Global Forwarding to put concepts into practice so that it can be validated and turned into a formal standard.”

Spicejet becomes first scheduled airline to promote cargo from smaller airports across India. In its pioneering initiative, Spicejet shipped 965 kgs of Litchis from Darbhanga to Mumbai as a part of regional connectivity scheme. Farmers can benefit greatly from this initiative and ship highly perishable Litchis to the major consumption centres in India with ease. Spicejet can also provide additional capacity by deploying its q-400 aircraft, if required. On the occasion, Hardeep Puri, Minister for Civil Aviation said, “As part of Krishi Udan Scheme, fresh Litchis were loaded on a flight to Mumbai from Darbhanga Airport in the Mithila region.” Spicejet has been actively involved in the transportation of goods since the pandemic. Commenting on the successful transportation, Usha Padee, Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation said, “Happy to see the expected outcomes. #UDAN has played a positive role in boosting the local economy. Darbanga is a successful example.”

Cathay Pacific Cargo has made a further contribution to pandemic relief efforts in India with an airlift of 300,000 COVID-19 testing kits, which were a gift from the State of Oregon. The shipment departed Portland for Mumbai via Hong Kong on one of Cathay Pacific Cargo’s Boeing 747 freighters. Cathay Pacific Cargo, forwarder Expeditors and logistics company Davis Trucking partnered with the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Administrative Services, offering their services free of charge for the shipment. Cathay Pacific’s Regional General Manager, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Mark Sutch said: “I would like to thank our team in the Americas and our local partners for organising this shipment. As one of the leading cargo providers operating into India, we stand united with citizens of the country and further our efforts in bringing essential humanitarian and medical aid to India. ”